Hillary and I were very saddened to learn of Daisy Bates death this
morning. She was a dear friend and a heroine. She was known chiefly as a
leader during the crisis of Central High School in 1957 and a mentor to the
Little Rock Nine. But she was so much more.

President Kennedy so admired her for her civil rights work that he
hired her to work in his Administration. During her 84 years, she received
over 200 awards for her civil rights work -- including the NAACP's esteemed
Spingarn Award. In 1957, the Associated Press named her one of the Top
Nine news personalities in the World.

We were blessed to have Daisy as a citizen of Arkansas, where she and
her husband L.C. published the award winning Arkansas State Press
Newspaper. For over 30 years, it was the only African American newspaper
in the state. Her death will leave a vacuum in the Civil Rights community,
the state of Arkansas and our country. Her legacy will live on through the
work she did, the friends she made, and the people she touched.